City of Guelph

#Guelph supports Toronto Region’s bid for #Amazon HQ2

Guelph, Ont., October 19, 2017 – The City of Guelph, University of Guelph and area regions have come together to support the Toronto Region’s bid for Amazon HQ2.Amazon, the U.S. tech giant in the business world, sought bids from across North America in search of a location for its second headquarters. Toronto Region’s bid provides 10 sites as possible locations for Amazon HQ2.
“This is an unparalleled opportunity for the entire Innovation Corridor. Guelph is pleased to bring our strengths to the table to make Toronto Region’s bid even more competitive. Those strengths include a pool of highly skilled talent and the research strengths of the University of Guelph,” said Guelph’s Mayor, Cam Guthrie.
Guelph provides a unique offering of skilled local talent with 65.6 per cent of the population aged 25 to 64 holding a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, which is higher than the provincial rate. Guelph’s labour force includes more than 96,000 people as of July 2017, up eight per cent since 2012.
The city and University are also important to the agriculture and agri-food industry, which contributes $37.5 billion annually to the Province’s gross domestic product.
“As Canada’s Food University, the University of Guelph is an international research powerhouse in agri-food, making us a strong partner for Amazon and its Whole Foods division. By choosing Ontario’s Innovation Corridor, Amazon will have access to our world-class researchers and facilities and strong government and industry collaborations,” said Franco Vaccarino, President, University of Guelph.
The University’s ability to attract talent to the city, and the city’s ability to keep that talent at home with employment opportunities, makes Guelph an ideal location for business development.
“Guelph ticks all of the boxes when it comes to providing an environment for research, innovation and the talent Amazon needs for their business to grow and thrive,” said Scott Stewart, deputy chief administrative officer, Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise for the City of Guelph.
Guelph is ready to welcome Amazon to the Toronto Region and contribute to the talent, innovation and quality of life that will help Amazon HQ2 succeed.
To see details on Toronto Global’s bid, visit http://www.torontoglobal.ca/amazon.